Conduit holders for use in supporting electrical conduit, armored cable and the like



May 5, 1959 J. A. THlEL 2,885,169

CONDUIT HOLD FOR USE IN SUPPORTING ELECTRICAL CONDU ARMORED CABLE ANDTHE LIKE Filed May 10, 1956 FIG-5 3 %E Zl [III/III!" INVENTOR. JOSEPH A.THIEL .1 y E 7 ATTORNEY United States Patent CONDUIT HOLDERS FOR USE INSUPPORTING EEIIEECTRICAL CONDUIT, ARMORED CABLE AND T LIKE Joseph A.Thiel, St. Louis County, Mo.

Application May 10, 1956, Serial No. 584,145

Claims. (Cl. 248-71) This invention relates in general to certain newand useful improvements in conduit holders for use in supportingelectrical conduit, armored cable and the like.

When installing electrical wiring in homes, buildings, industrial plantsand the like, it is usually necessary to support the armored cable orconduit by some type of hanger, stapler or similar device which ishammered into the joists or studding. Numerous devices of this typehave, from time to time, been developed such as cast hanger-nails whichare expensive and brittle, hangerhooks which are stamped from flat sheetmetal and, tend to split the wood into which they are driven.Furthermore, most such devices are relatively weak and readily bend,cock, or distort when driven with hammer-blows which are not entirelysquare and straight.

It is, therefore, the primary object of the present invention to providea conduit holder having a rugged naillike shank which is, therefore,easy to drive and does not readily tend to split the wood into which itis being driven.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a conduitholder of the type stated which has a uniquely formed conduit-engagingelement and will therefore retain its shape against substantialdistortional forces such as improperly directed hammer-blows and thelike.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a conduitholder of the type stated which readily lends itself to high-speedmanufacture in continuous automatic production machinery and istherefore extremely economical in cost.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a novel andeconomical method for producing conduit holders having the inherentcharacteristics above set forth.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention resides in thenovel features of form, construction, arrangement, and combination ofparts presently described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a conduit holder constructed inaccordance with and embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is an end elevational view of the conduit holder;

Figures 3, 4 and 5 are sectional views taken along lines 3-3, 44, and5-5, respectively of Figure 1; and

Figures 6, 7, 8 and 9 are diagrammatic views illustrating the threemajor steps or forming operations constituting the method of the presentinvention.

Referring now in more detail and by reference characters to the drawingswhich illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present invention, 1designates a conduit holder formed of steel wire of suitable gauge andintegrally comprising a shank 2 provided at one socalled forward endwith a driving-point 3 and at its other or rear end with aconduit-engaging element or hook 4. As will be seen by reference toFigures 2 and 4, the hook 4 is flattened along its outwardly presentedface, to

provide an arcuate face 5 which is of somewhat cylindrical contour andan impact shoulder 6 which is substantially perpendicular to thelongitudinal axis of the shank 2. Similarly the outwardly presented faceof the hook 4 is flattened along the outer portion of its length in theprovision of a conduit-gripping face 7 which is also of somewhatcylindrical contour. Finally the metal between the hook 4 and shank 2 iscold-worked, as a part of the forming procedure, to provide anintermediate somewhat thickened oblique connecting neck 8 which resistsaccidental distortion in case the impact shoulder 6 or any part of thehook is struck by a hammer-blow which is improperly or inaccuratelydirected. In addition to this the conduit-gripping surface 7 insuressnugfitting retentive contact with the conduit orarmored cable for whichthe conduit holder 1 is designed and also contributes material to thedistortion-resisting characteristic inherent in conduit holders of thepresent invention. The flattening of the outwardly presented andinwardly presented faces of the hook 4, as shown in Figures 3 and 4,also achieves an additional measure of cold working, or cold forging, asit is sometimes called, so that the metal within the S-shaped hook isrendered less malleable, or in other words, more distortion resistant toaccidental hammer-blows. It should, of course, be understood in thisconnection that conduit and armored cable are made in standard sizes andaccordingly the conduit holders of the present invention can beaccurately designed in matching sizes.

The conduit holders 1 are preferably manufactured in a high-speedautomatic machine of the punch-press type using a series of progressivedies operating to perform the sequence of steps diagrammatically shownin Figures 6, 7, 8 and 9. The wire stock 10 is continuously fed inthrough conventional straightening rolls 11 and over a cut-off anvil 12.In the relative position indicated by the line aa, a cut-off blade 13and forming wiper 14 come down and sever the wire stock 10 and form theoncoming end with a quarter-bend around a suitable former 15 as shown inFigure 7. On the next stroke the wire stock 10 is advanced to theposition shown in Figure 8. Thereupon as the forming machinery makes itsnext stroke, the cut-off forward portion 10 of the wire stock 10 isclamped between hold-down dies d, d and is finally shaped by the dies 1616 and 17 17* which move in the directions shown by the respectivedirectional arrows in Figure 9. At the same time the oncoming end of thenext succeeding portion of the wire stock 10 is being formed to aquarter-bend around the former 15. Consequently, on the second stroke acompleted conduit holder 1 is formed and an identical conduit holder 1is thereafter formed on each succeeding stroke.

It should be understood that changes and modifications in the form,construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of theconduit holders for use in supporting electrical conduit, armored cableand the like may be made and substituted for those herein shown anddescribed without departing from the nature and principle of myinvention.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. A conduit holder formed of normally malleable metal and comprising astraight shank of substantially circular cross-sectional shape, saidshank being pointed at its forward end and being integrally provided, atits rear end, with a reversely bent connection portion which extendslaterally outwardly and forwardly at an oblique angle with respect tothe shank and merges arcuately into a relatively large forwardly curvedhook, all portions of which are located forwardly with respect to therear end of the shank, said rear end of the shank and the connec- 7 3tion cold-worked at the region tot juncture therebetweemthe rear end ofthe shank being flattened to provide animpact-receiviag surface and theunderside oftsaid roginnof juncture is doformedin the provision loftslocaliaadmne oflhardnum between the, connection portionandthelrosrtondof the shank in sudlnl of juncture. 1

21A conduit holderasdofineddn claim 1 andfurther ,iu presented amuateface of thehook is flattened.

3. Aconduit holder as defined inqclairn 1 and further characterised in,that the forwardly presented arcuate face of the hook is flattened.

4. A mat ix holder as defined inelaim 1 and further characterizedin thatthe rearwardly presented and, forwardly pressntedfaeesof flattened toprovide substantially: parallel surfaces 5. A eonduitholder fanned ofnormallymmalleabte metal aystraightushank of substantiallycirailarcross-sectionalsbapqsaid shank its forward end being integrallyprovided, ;at 111 rear end. with arevsrsely bent connection portionwhich extends laterally outwardly and forwardly at an oblique angle withrespect to theshank, and merges, arcuately into a relatively, largeforwardly curvedhook, all portions of 25 which are located forwardlywithrespect totherear end of the shank, said rear end of the shank andthe connec- 4 tion portion being cold-worked at the regionof juncturetherebetween, the rear end of the shank being flattened to provide animpact-receiving surface and the underside of said region of juncture isdeformed in the provision of a small somewhat flattened surfaceextending angularly cross-wise between the rear end of the shank and theinterior surface of the connection portion thereby forming a localizedzone of hardness between the connection portion and; the rear endof theshank in such region of juncture.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

